Thursday, April 29, 2010

Opel's new Ampera pre-production on schedule

The new Opel Ampera has been in production for a long time now and today marks an important day, as the first of the pre-production models has just rolled off the factory floor. The Opel Ampera is set to go on sale in European markets in the later parts of 2011, so there is still a long wait for the car to go into full production.

The point of these pre-production models is largely for testing, ensuring that they live up to the standards that are set, including safety as some of the models will be used crash-testing and structural integrity . Also the controls and car software are tested so that the final launch product will run smooth and as error-free as possible.

In keeping with the general push towards more eco-friendly and fuel efficient cars, the Opel Ampera has been designed as electric. The car will deliver up to 60km on the electric motor before the standard engine will kick in and take the car more than 500km in a seamless change. Charging the battery is done by plugging the car into any house-hold plug socket, which adds great versatility and user-friendliness to the Ampera.